This invention relates to prescription eyewear for users who have corrective prescriptions that cause eye glass lenses to be inordinately thick to accommodate the correction. While the use of lightweight plastics has provided some relief from the use of heavy plastic or glass lenses, the problem persists that many lenses for extreme visual correction are unusually thick resulting in an unattractive appearance. The thick appearance of a wearer's glasses can impact on the wearer's self image compounding the visual disability. Additionally, thick and heavy lenses can interfer with sports activities and other recreational activities where vision correction is needed. The eyewear lens of this invention comprises a lenticular lens principally designed as a health aid or for recreational eyewear, particularly eyewear for vision correction where thickness and weight are primary considerations.
It has been discovered that the imprinting of multiple miniature lenses on the surface of a lens blank, where the space between each mini-lens is minimized, will result in a user's mind ignoring the web-like interface between lenses when a user peers through a lens complex positioned close to the eye. Use of multiple miniature lenses having the extreme correction necessary for certain eye deficiencies, that would ordinarily result in overly thick conventional lenses, enables eyewear to be constructed with a thin profile that is consistent with conventional non-prescription sportswear lenses. To minimize distortion and to construct a lens that is as normal or attractive in appearance as conventional a lens, the miniature lenses are imprinted on a substrate having a curvature and thickness typically used for sunglasses. The geometric pattern selected for the lenses in the lens complex is based on aesthetic considerations since the appearance of the resulting eyewear is equally as important as its function. Constructing miniature lenses in an attractive pattern with a correct prescription curvature that can be imprinted on a naturally appearing lens substrate has presented substantial problems. The manufacture of a relatively inexpensive product that is available to individuals having different corrective prescriptions is also a problem. These problems have been overcome by the lenticular lens for corrective eyeglasses and the method of making the lens or lens segment for a two-piece lens as herein described.
The object of this invention is not to eliminate the use of conventional lenses with high corrections, but to create optional lightweight eyewear that is suitable for recreational use where sports activities or social situations make the optional eyewear desirable. The proposed eyewear is not considered a substitute for prescription lenses, but is an auxiliary item that is preferably tinted and styled to provide an attractive appearance which reinforces the confidence of the wearer.